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Becoming the Lord of Pandemonium (chapter)
Summary Outside a large house in Ukiyoe Town, a girl with a scarf searches for the house's young master, an 8-year old boy named Rikuo Nura who she finds seemingly crouching on the ground in pain. When she approaches, she suddenly finds herself launched into the air and hung upside-down from a tree by her feet. The girl is a yōkai called Yuki Onna, and Rikuo cheerfully races off after she falls into his trap. Two strange-looking men in monk robes find her hanging from the tree only to fall into a trap themselves - a ditch dug beneath the first. Rikuo and his two yōkai helpers flee as the robed men shout. In a Japanese eatery, Rikuo sits with his grandfather Nurarihyon, supreme commander of all yōkai, and excitedly recounts the pranks pulled earlier in the day. He then asks if Nurarihyon will pass down the emblem of the third, and his grandfather says maybe after Rikuo has become more like a yōkai. Determined, Rikuo announces that he will do his best to become a great yōkai leader and then asks if yōkai are really as strong as his grandfather says. Nurarihyon proceeds to explain about yōkai and the days of his youth, and then exhibits a show of his power - by fleeing from the eatery unseen with Rikuo. The following morning, Rikuo is greeted by a wide variety of yōkai in his house's hallway who help him get ready for school - among them Yuki Onna and the two robed men, whose names are Aotabō and Kurotabō. Racing out to catch the bus, Rikuo meets up with a friend named Kana who chides him for his tardiness. As the bus pulls away, several yōkai watch and wonder if Rikuo, as a human, will be able to lead the Nura Clan. At school, Rikuo beats his classmates in a race and, when they complain about his speed, he declares it's because his grandfather is the supreme commander of all yōkai. Back in the classroom after gym class, a boy named Kiyotsugu gives a presentation on yōkai legends, after which Rikuo voices his confusion over yōkai being evil. He tries to explain how yōkai are actually good guys, as per his own experience, eventually shouting that he knows all these things because his grandfather is Nurarihyon. Kiyotsugu smugly informs Rikuo as to the type of stories associated with the yōkai Nurarihyon before proudly announcing that his classmates have nothing to fear as yōkai aren't real. When Rikuo tries to interject, he is silenced by two of his classmates. After school, at the Nura household, Rikuo glumly sits on a step throwing rocks into a pond. Kubinashi, a yōkai whose head hovers above his shoulders, passes by, telling Rikuo to cheer up as Nurarihyon is having a big meeting and he wishes for Rikuo to attend. Inside the house, a procession of yōkai fill the hallway as they head toward the meeting room. Once they are all settled, Rikuo and his grandfather enter as well and take their seats at the head of the room. Nurarihyon exchanges pleasantries with the yōkai present, who ask him the reason for the meeting. Grinning, he says he thought he'd choose someone to be the Third. Gagoze, a yōkai who resembles a sharp-toothed mummy in a tattered cloak, is put forward as an excellent candidate due to the sheer number of his evil deeds. Nurarihyon, however, names Rikuo for the position and those present are shocked. Rikuo shouts that he doesn't want to be the Third, didn't know the sort of evil things yōkai did, and races from the room declaring he isn't anything like them. His grandfather is stunned at this sudden change of heart and his advisor Mokugyo Daruma questions if Rikuo is in fact Nurarihyon's biological grandson. The following day as Rikuo walks toward the bus leaving school, Kiyotsugu and another classmate mock him because of his outburst the previous day. As he is feeling down, Kana bumps into him and tells him to just ignore their classmates' mocking. She cheers him up by saying that wanting to become a great person who stands over the servants of his household isn't anything to be ashamed of, and Rikuo realizes that most people are scared of yōkai, so he shouldn't talk about them anymore. The bus drives away and the girl seated beside Kana mentions a legend of kids being kidnapped from school buses in the area. Kiyotsugu stands up and declares his research proves that yōkai don't exist, just as a yōkai who resembles Gagoze appears behind him and the bus is buried in a landslide of rocks. Several others who resemble Gagoze crouch on the overpass and stare at the rubble, stating that Rikuo was undoubtedly on that bus. The sound of cawing reveals a crow-headed yōkai named Karasu Tengu carrying Rikuo and flying back toward the Nura household. Rikuo asks if he's human, and is told that a quarter of his blood is still that of a yōkai. They arrive at the Nura household, where Yuki Onna and others run over to greet them. On the news is a report of a school bus having been buried alive, and, realizing Kana was on that bus, Rikuo decides he has to save her. Rushing out, he tells several of the yōkai to come with him but is stopped by Mokugyo Daruma, who states that the idea of leading an army of yōkai out to help humans is absurd. Rikuo silences the argument that follows by declaring that if he can't lead them because he's human, then he'll stop being human, and his appearance changes. Kubinashi and Mokugyo Daruma suspect that the bus was targeted because the culprit was trying to kill Rikuo, and the yōkai forces of the Nura house follow him to the site of the accident. There, some of the smaller yōkai begin digging at the rubble. Below, the children from the bus notice the Gagoze supporters lined up along one wall, and Gagoze himself declares that they will have to slaughter everyone because there are too many survivors. As they swarm toward the children, a collection of yōkai smash through the wall with Rikuo (now in his yōkai form) at the helm. Kiyotsugu panics at the sudden knowledge that yōkai are real and Mokugyo Daruma confronts Gagoze on the latter's assassination attempt. Realizing that Rikuo is alive, Gagoze and his supporters attack but are defeated by the Nura Clan forces. In a last-ditch effort to regain control of the situation, Gagoze threatens to kill Kiyotsugu, Kana and a third classmate as they are Rikuo's friends, but Rikuo prevents him from doing so and slices him in half. Declaring that he will take the position of Third Head, Rikuo states he will become the master of all yōkai and never forgive anyone who is an enemy of humans. Mokugyo Daruma realizes that a yōkai's true fear lies not just in causing terror, but also in inspiring awe. As light shines down from the broken ceiling, Rikuo collapses and reverts back to his human form. The yōkai around him realize in a panic that he can only take on his yōkai form for a quarter of the day because his blood is only one-quarter yōkai. A few years later, the Nura Clan is holding another meeting and Nurarihyon is frustrated that not even one council member would agree to Rikuo as the Third. A 12-year old Rikuo in his school uniform is seen in the hallway greeting the various yōkai of the household before telling his grandfather not to do any evil deeds. Rikuo leaves for school and Mokugyo Daruma points out that the former seems to be becoming a fine human, rather than a fine yōkai. Nurarihyon despairs, wondering when Rikuo will take the position of Third so he can retire. Trivia * Prior to Sennen Makyō, the contents of this chapter appeared only as a brief flashback in episode 14 of the anime, where Rikuo is shown slicing Gagoze in half. * In the first publication of this chapter in the Weekly Shōnen Jump, Rikuo is stated to be 9 years old when he defeats Gagoze, thus creating a discrepancy in a later chapter, when he has already reached 13, the "yōkai age of adulthood." This is fixed in the tankōbon version, where Rikuo's age during the Gagoze incident is changed to 8 so that after the incident, he is seen turning 12. * Though Wakana appears at the end of the chapter, she isn't officially introduced as Rikuo's mother until chapter 21. Category:Chapters